The Chocolatier's Secret (Magnolia Creek, Book 2) Page 22

  ‘Julia was sometimes too stubborn for her own good.’ A flicker of guilt passed him by as he remembered an ex-girlfriend, glad Gemma couldn’t hear him even though he had no desire to resurrect the past relationship. ‘One day we’d been out blackberry picking, and we took the quick way home, cutting across a field where there were several horses grazing. One of the horses caught my eye. It was ebony, gleaming beneath the sun, the most impressive horse I’d ever seen.

  ‘Anyway, I got closer to the animal wanting to feel his coat for myself, but its ears were laid flat, the whites of its eyes showing. It was scared, but Julia thought I was being a wimp. She teased me and insisted she’d stroke the horse first if I wasn’t going to. I kept telling her not to but she went ahead and did it anyway.’

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘The horse turned around and bit her in the stomach.’ He chuckled. ‘I think you could hear the screams all across the village.’

  Molly laughed but soon turned serious. ‘I think the worst thing was how unprepared I was. I had this vision of Julia opening her arms to me eventually.’

  ‘Real life rarely goes the way we plan though, does it?’ he philosophised, aware of his own far from idyllic domestic situation. These days, the cosy world he called home constantly spun on its axis and Molly turning up had only made it spin faster.

  ‘No, I guess not.’ She held the orange bag on her lap and toyed with the handles. ‘Part of me thought that if I could get on a plane to come and meet you, then no matter what happened, I’d survive it. It kind of made me feel invincible, to be taking control.’

  He thought about what she’d said. ‘How do your parents feel about all this? Have you talked to them since you arrived in Australia?’

  ‘I have, and they’re supportive, if a little worried.’ She’d called her mum late last night and reassured her that everything was fine, she was taking it slow. She’d almost burst into tears the second she heard her mum’s voice, but she’d kept it under control, not wanting to worry them across the miles.

  ‘How’s Gemma?’ Molly asked.

  Her question made him sit up straighter. ‘How does she feel about you, you mean?’ She nodded. ‘To be honest, I really don’t know. You’re not seeing the real Gemma, or at least the Gemma who was here before all of these family issues began.’

  ‘What’s she really like?’

  ‘She’s usually able to size people and situations up at a glance, take control, adapt and work out strategies to make everything easier. She’s strong, but struggling to have children has battered her out of shape.’ He smiled awkwardly. ‘Sorry, very bad analogy there. I think everything happening at once has started to take its toll, and finally I see she needs support as much as the rest of us. Trouble is, she’s usually so strong it’s difficult to recognise the early warning signs. She’s been coping with taking Louis to hospital too. Something I could easily rectify if I got over myself.’

  She returned his smile, and he briefly saw the fifteen-year-old Julia, scared and unsure. ‘My appearance won’t have helped,’ said Molly.

  ‘Don’t take it personally. Easier said than done, but in her heart she doesn’t wish for any hurt to come your way.’

  ‘Do you wish I’d given you more warning? Written first?’

  He thought about it for a moment. ‘Actually, no. Sometimes you can overthink a situation, and by doing so you get nowhere.’

  They talked some more about Molly’s visit to Albert Park with Ben, but he tried not to pry too much. This was obviously a blossoming romance even though Molly described their relationship as a friendship. He could see it was more by the way she needed to control her smile when she spoke about Ben, the way her eyes were downcast as though thinking about him and talking about him at the same time made it too difficult to do anything else. In this moment, Andrew felt like a father, an overprotective father wondering whether Ben Harrison was good enough for his little girl, and the feeling took him by surprise.

  ‘You must be pretty angry at Louis,’ Molly noted.

  He drew in his breath. ‘That’s putting it mildly.’

  ‘I saw him this afternoon, and Gemma.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Gemma could barely look at me, she crossed the road. I feel so bad this is coming between you.’

  Andrew ran a hand through his hair, tugging hard at the roots as though it would help.

  ‘It must be hard for her to know what to say.’ Molly smiled. ‘Louis spoke to me … he was wearing slippers, in the street.’ She pulled a face.

  Andrew laughed. ‘Dad won’t wear something that doesn’t feel comfortable, so he’s been living in a pair of slippers or his runners since his feet are too swollen for shoes.’

  Louis shouldn’t have been out walking on his own, and Andrew hoped he’d only gone as far as Main Street and then turned back for home. They weren’t speaking, but his chest still clenched at the thought of his dad walking somewhere, unable to get back to them because he’d taken a turn.

  ‘He can get really tired,’ Andrew explained. ‘He’s exhausted at times, especially on the same day as the dialysis. He often sleeps it off the second he’s home. But other days he’ll be up and about, determined not to let it get the better of him.’

  ‘And Gemma takes him to dialysis?’

  ‘She does. We were sharing until—’

  ‘Until he told you everything,’ Molly concluded. ‘What about a transplant?’

  Her question startled him. ‘There’s a long waiting list.’

  ‘You know, family members are often a match. There’s always live donation.’

  Oh God, how had he got into this conversation? ‘I’m not a match.’ The words were out before he could stop them. This was about him and Molly, father and daughter, not about the wrongs of his father, the secrets and lies he’d kept.

  ‘I might even be a match,’ said Molly.

  ‘Oh no, no way.’ She could well be, but he’d never, ever let her do it. ‘Please don’t even entertain the thought, Molly.’

  Anxious to escape any talk of transplants, he said, ‘I’m angry at Dad for what he did, but he’s a good man deep down.’ Admitting it out loud was more for Molly’s benefit than his own, but it made him take pause. ‘He knows how wrong he was and he also knows – maybe this wouldn’t have been the case all those years ago – that he can’t push away a member of his own family. I imagine he’d be thinking perhaps he could make amends, through you. He’ll want to get to know you, Molly.’

  She seemed pleased at the thought.

  They sat in the quiet of the office, the breeze blowing through the open window, the whir of the computer on the desk. The sounds of the chocolaterie seeped through the door – Stephanie calling to Emilio to fill another online order, Emilio asking for packaging for chocolates destined for the shop floor.

  Molly put her bag down and scooped her legs up onto the chair, hugging them to her. ‘Tell me more about life in Australia when you were younger. I’m fascinated. It must’ve been so different.’

  He told her about the first year in the country, making friends, all the usual schoolyard shenanigans from fighting with other boys to trying a cigarette and hating it. He told her how he’d studied a Hospitality degree in Melbourne and was set to do hotel management, but then during an apprenticeship as a pastry chef at a hotel in the city, his passion for chocolate grew. He’d studied under Louis, working in the family chocolate business, and then he’d met Gemma and decided to go it alone under the banner of Magnolia Creek Chocolaterie.

  ‘Do you need to get going?’ he asked when he heard her phone bleep.

  ‘Ben,’ she said. ‘Sorry, I’ll text him to explain where I am.’

  When Molly had finished sending her message, Andrew asked her to tell him more about her childhood, more about her life now. She recalled school days: the time she’d taken her guinea pig into school for show and tell and it had died on the table, literally; the childhood scrapes she and Isaac had got into; the time she bro
ke her arm playing leapfrog.

  ‘I’ll miss Isaac when he moves to America,’ said Molly. ‘Mum and Dad are heartbroken, but they know they have to let him go.’

  The room fell silent until Andrew asked. ‘Where do we go from here?’ and instantly regretted it. It sounded like he was taking charge in a business meeting, working out an agenda.

  ‘I don’t really know. I guess some of it depends on Gemma,’ she said tentatively. ‘I don’t want to come between you. The last thing I want to do is cause trouble. But if she doesn’t want me in your lives, then moving forwards will be difficult, all round.’

  ‘You’re too understanding.’ He smiled. ‘Julia always said I was too soft, you must get that from me.’

  Molly’s phone bleeped again. ‘I’d better be going.’ She hesitated. ‘Thank you for inviting me here today.’

  ‘I enjoyed it,’ said Andrew, conscious they still weren’t entirely relaxed in one another’s company. There was still a slight awkwardness, unspoken words hovering somewhere in the air, refusing to be caught for now.

  *

  The chocolaterie was closing, and Andrew switched the tempering machines in the kitchen to standby so the remaining chocolate inside would keep until he switched them all back on in the morning. Outside the sky had turned a gunmetal grey, clouds puffed in the distance and Magnolia Creek was quietening, preparing to say goodbye to another day as the light faded.

  ‘Gemma?’ Andrew unlocked the front door to the shop when his wife appeared in the doorway and tapped gently on the glass. ‘Is everything okay?’ She was usually at home at this time, tired after a busy day teaching.

  She kissed him on the cheek.

  ‘What’s that for?’

  ‘Because I haven’t kissed you in nearly a week.’ She followed him out into the kitchen where he rinsed a few moulds and dried them with kitchen towel.

  ‘It’s understandable,’ he said.

  ‘Andrew.’ She stilled his hands and he put down the mould and the tissue. ‘I don’t want this to come between us. We’ve got so much going on.’

  He smiled, reached a hand up to stroke her cheek. ‘You’re amazing, you know that?’ This was the Gemma he’d fallen in love with. The woman who saw problems as temporary glitches, nothing they couldn’t bounce back from.

  She looped her arms around his neck. ‘I know.’

  When he grinned, she leant past him and plucked a wonky white chocolate disc from the tub on the top shelf where they kept any rejected chocolates, unsuitable for display. She plucked another and put it in Andrew’s mouth as he pulled her to him.

  ‘I saw Molly today,’ she said.

  ‘So did I.’

  Gemma pulled back. ‘You did? Did you speak to her?’

  He nodded, couldn’t help the smile. ‘We talked for a while.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘It went well, really well.’ He told her what they’d talked about, downplaying how awesome it had felt, how elated he still was even though she’d left a while ago.

  ‘How did you leave things?’ Gemma asked.

  ‘We’ll talk again. It’s a shame she lives so far away.’ He searched Gemma’s eyes for any indication of whether she would ever be able to accept this new person in their lives. Molly was close to Gemma in age. Only seven years separated them, and Andrew wondered, if Molly were younger, would it have been easier for Gemma to accept Molly as his child?

  ‘Make the most of the time you have with her,’ she said.

  ‘I intend to.’ He went to kiss her, but she pulled away. ‘What?’

  ‘Talking of making the most of the time you have …’ She raised her eyebrows.

  ‘Oh don’t, don’t start on about Dad again.’ He went into the office to turn off the computer and Gemma followed him.

  ‘If I don’t say it, nobody else will, least of all him!’ Her voice was strong, determined, angry even.

  ‘Leave it, Gemma.’

  ‘No! I can’t leave it!’ She eased off and sighed deeply, leaning against the doorjamb. ‘I didn’t come here for a row. God knows we’ve been strangers in our own house for the last few days ever since Molly turned up. I’m not suggesting you forget all about what Louis did, but he’s sorry for what he’s done.’

  Andrew conceded. ‘I know he is, but I can’t get past it. I can’t.’

  Gemma moved towards him, stood on tiptoes, rested her forehead against his. ‘Try. For his sake.’ But Andrew pulled away.

  ‘I don’t want to talk about it any more.’

  ‘Well, hard luck!’ Her voice grew louder as she tried to get through to him. ‘You have to talk about it! Did you know he’s getting worse?’

  Her words stopped him as he pushed his phone into his bag and picked up his coat.

  ‘Today he got out of breath coming from the annexe to the house. He fell into a chair the second he got there.’

  ‘Molly says she saw him out walking today, you know, when you ignored her? When you felt the need to cross the street?’ It was a low blow, but he was angry, couldn’t help it.

  ‘I’ll ignore that remark because, right now, it’s not about me or my feelings. For your information, Louis had been holding my arm right up until I saw Molly and told him I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t act like I was happy she was here, in our lives all of a sudden. I couldn’t look at her and not hate her for being the child I can’t give us.’

  ‘You hate her?’

  Gemma hesitated. ‘I’m not sure I can have her in our lives.’

  ‘This is about you! You’re not even trying to see it from my point of view, or from Molly’s.’

  ‘We’ve got enough going on in this family right now.’ Gemma couldn’t look at him.

  ‘And Molly is a part of this family. Like it or not.’ He dug his heels in. Someone had to. He’d lost Molly once, or thought he had when the families had pushed him and Julia apart, and he didn’t want to lose her again.

  ‘You’re too stubborn for your own good, Andrew. Your dad will die if you have your way.’

  ‘I don’t want him to die!” He bellowed back at her.

  ‘You’re refusing to give him your kidney when you’re the perfect match. You may as well sign his death certificate and be done with it.’

  Gemma turned on her heel to leave and bumped straight into Molly.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Molly, looking from Gemma to Andrew. ‘The door was open.’ She hooked her thumb behind her towards the front door. ‘I left my swim bag.’ She stepped forwards and picked up the orange bag. ‘We didn’t swim, too cold. I thought I’d come and get it,’ she stammered.

  ‘Molly, I—’ Gemma began.

  ‘No need to explain.’ And with that she was gone, and all Andrew could do was look at Gemma. Anger and resentment coursed through his veins.

  It was an impossible choice. If the two most important women in his life couldn’t make peace, he’d lose both or either of them. And if he let the past dictate the future, he’d lose his father too.

  His family was about to snap like a brittle chocolate square, wafer thin, but with an inside he didn’t like the look of much at all.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Molly

  Molly ran straight to the Harrisons’ house. She’d spent so long talking with Andrew that afternoon that the autumn temperature had crept up on them, and they’d already decided not to swim, but she’d run back to the chocolaterie, before it closed, to get her bag in case they wanted to swim tomorrow.

  Ben was still sitting out in the cabana at the foot of the garden, past the pool, when she arrived.

  ‘I couldn’t bear the thought of being in the cottage on my own,’ she told him after she’d explained what had happened.

  Ben grabbed two beers from the outside fridge. ‘So Louis could die, and his son could be the reason?’

  ‘Looks like it.’ Molly slumped at the bench beneath the cabana, which housed everything needed for a good party: the barbecue, the fridge, the stunning pool with a backdrop of the bush or the
back of the house, depending on which way you were facing. ‘When we talked this afternoon, he told me he wasn’t a match.’

  Ben whistled in surprise and took a swig of beer. ‘Lying to you isn’t exactly a good way to start a relationship.’

  ‘You think?’ Molly knocked back half her drink as they listened to the water glugging from the solar system, the gentle chugging of the pool cleaner as it skimmed dirt from the blue tiles below the water.

  ‘Andrew Bennett is as bad as his father if he thinks lying is the way to deal with things,’ said Molly. ‘That’s exactly the reason he’s as angry as he is. Why didn’t he tell me the truth?’ She was angry at being lied to. Here was yet another twisted story from the Bennett family.

  ‘Perhaps he thought you’d think badly of him,’ said Ben.

  ‘I think badly of someone who can’t tell the truth.’

  When he noticed she’d necked most of her beer already, he didn’t even ask before he went to the fridge and brought back another. He cracked open the top and handed it to her.

  ‘Thank you.’ The first beer had already calmed her down. She ran her fingers down the second bottle, watching as the brown glass darkened when her skin warmed the vessel.

  ‘Look at it from his point of view,’ Ben suggested diplomatically. ‘If he’d told you the truth, you would’ve thought he was heartless for saying no to his dying father, am I right?’ She didn’t answer, confirming his assumption. ‘It probably went under the banner of things-to-tell-my-long-lost-daughter-eventually.’

  ‘I suppose you’re right.’

  Ben nudged her. ‘Go and see him tomorrow, talk to him. My family kept secrets over the years and if you ask me, it makes matters worse. Owen found out my parents had hidden something from him his entire life and it very nearly blew up in their faces.’

  ‘Are they okay now?’

  ‘Everything is great now, better than before. But I realise how easily it could’ve gone the other way.’

  ‘Yes, Doctor Ben.’

  ‘Hey, don’t mock. I’m a good doctor. But this isn’t medical advice. It’s common sense.’